Town bids bye to croc that brought fame

MALANG the freshwater crocodile has become a celebrity in M’lang, North Cotabato province, a town that wants to keep basking in Malang’s fame. WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA/ INQUIRER MINDANAO

M’LANG, Philippines— Goodbye, Malang the crocodile. Hello, Malang the symbol.

The town is bidding goodbye to Malang today when the reptile is released to its natural habitat but Mayor Joselito Piñol will not simply let go and has issued an executive order declaring Malang as the town’s official symbol.

While the town would no longer have Malang in its midst, Piñol said the reptile would be long remembered with a monument that he plans to have built and when officials of the town write or read official documents.

Malang’s image, according to Piñol, would be embossed on all the local government unit’s letterhead.

The gesture, the mayor said, would help remind the town’s people of the richness of Liguasan Marsh where Malang, a 2.18-meter freshwater crocodile considered an endangered species, was captured.

“This will also remind our people to protect M’lang rivers and its tributaries, and protect the flora and fauna of Liguasan,” the mayor said.

Earlier, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) appealed to the local government to free Malang.

Piñol said he had no intention of keeping Malang in the town and need not be reminded of it.

“It will be released back to the wild even without a reminder from Peta or an order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” the mayor said.

When Malang is released today, he will not be alone, according to town officials. He will be sent away with a partner, a female crocodile.

Piñol said Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) had promised to provide a partner for Malang.

The mayor quoted Veronica D. Guzman, manager of the center, as saying a partner would be good for Malang and efforts to increase the population of freshwater crocodiles in Liguasan Marsh, a 220,000-hectare catch basin that straddles the provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat.

PWRCC has certified that Malang, who had escaped from captivity briefly and wandered around town, is in good health, said the mayor.

Malang had placed this sleepy town in the limelight, prompting officials to declare the crocodile as the town’s “mascot.”

While the town was preparing to release Malang, another surprise caught people’s attention here.

Three tarsiers were found in the village of New Antique and turned over to the municipal government by the owner of the farm where the animals, initially thought to be endemic in Bohol province, were found.

The forest where the three tarsiers were found borders North Cotabato, Davao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat where similar sightings of tarsiers had been reported in the past. Edwin Fernandez and Williamor Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao